Source: He's "Singing Willow"
Original poem
willow
Jasper dressed as a tree, hanging down ten thousand green silk tapestries.
I don't know who cut the thin leaves, but the spring breeze in February is like scissors.
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Tall willows are covered with new green leaves, and soft willows hang down like ten thousand green ribbons fluttering gently.
Whose skillful hand cut off this thin young leaf? It turned out to be the warm spring breeze in February. It's like a pair of clever scissors.
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The first sentence, "Jasper is as high as a tree", uses a metaphor to describe the richness of willow trees. A green willow stands high there, as if decorated with jasper. Jasper's metaphor shows the freshness and tenderness of willow, and the thin leaves seem to have the luster of jade. Jasper is also the name of Princess Runan in the Southern Song Dynasty. Yuefu songs include "Jasper Song", which contains the phrase "Jasper is a little girl". Later generations used "small jasper" to refer to a beautiful young woman from a small family. "Jasper is as tall as a tree." In the poet's imagination, he may think that graceful willow tree is like a jasper standing in the dressing room.
The second sentence is "ten thousand strands of green silk tapestry hang down" and "silk tapestry" is a ribbon. The last sentence is about the general impression of willow, and this sentence is about the details of willow. Dense, soft and drooping willow branches can best represent the characteristics of willow. The poet used "green silk brocade" to describe the willow branches, and presented them to the readers very vividly with clever pens.
The third and fourth sentences: "I don't know who cut the thin leaves, and the spring breeze in February is like scissors." Then describe the tender leaves of willow. The poet asked: Who cut the thin Liu Yeer? Oh, the spring breeze in February is like scissors. This jasper tree, thousands of tapestries and countless thin leaves are all her masterpieces! This poem is very short, with only four sentences and 28 words, and there are many noteworthy places in art.
First of all, this is a poem about objects. You can see from the title of "Singing Willow" that it is about singing willow. This poem is really a bright future. But I think the poet sings more than just willows. He sang about the spring breeze and the arrival of spring through the willows. People often know the arrival of spring from the changes in nature. The thawing of water and the northward flight of swallows are all signals that spring will return to the earth. Don't forget, willow is also the messenger of spring. A folk proverb says, "Look at the willows across the river in May and June." As early as May 9 and June 9, the willow buds in the distance had a faint new green color. He sang the arrival of spring by depicting the new makeup of willow trees, which can resonate with readers. Chanting willow is not limited to willow, but using willow to sing spring, which is higher than ordinary chanting poems.
Secondly, this poem is novel in conception and clever in metaphor, and the image of the poem seems to stand out from the paper. Especially in the last two sentences, scissors are used to compare the spring breeze. She cut off thin leaves and silk tapestries to make green trees. Wherever she blows, she carries her vitality. She cut through the harsh winter and cut out a colorful world. Her lightness, her sharpness and the joy of creation that followed-all kinds of beautiful imaginations can be generated from these two poems. Good poetry is full of enlightenment, far-reaching significance and far-reaching influence. They can arouse readers' association through one or two vivid images and inspire readers to form countless vivid pictures in their own minds. This poem is like this, it writes the whole spring through a willow tree; Praise all creative work through the spring breeze like scissors. Such a novel idea and such a fresh artistic realm are rare even in Tang poetry.
Third, this poem has only four sentences, but it is full of changes in levels. The first sentence, "Jasper is as high as a tree", first wrote a general impression and set the tone for the whole poem. The second sentence, "A tapestry of thousands of strands of moss hangs down", describes willow branches in detail separately. The third and fourth sentences, "I don't know who cut the thin leaves, and the spring breeze in February is like scissors", and then write willow leaves further. Focus on the overall situation first, and write more carefully, just like painting. Draw the outline first, and then add branches and leaves to supplement the details. The first two sentences and the last two sentences of this poem are also written differently. The first two sentences are descriptions: green trees are like jade, willow branches are like silk, how green trees rise, and how willow branches hang down. The last two sentences are about willow leaves. If you still use this way to say how thin and tender the willow leaves are, as if they had just been cut out, it would be dull. In the last two sentences, the poet changed his writing style. He didn't describe the thin leaf, nor did he make any metaphor. He just guessed who cut the beautiful thin leaves. The focus of the description quietly shifted to the spring breeze with thin leaves cut off. This goes beyond the artistic realm of the first two sentences, opens up a new artistic realm and makes readers feel refreshed.
Creation background
In the third year of Tianbao reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (744), He Zhangzhi returned to his hometown and the officials saw him off. He took a boat through Nanjing and Hangzhou and arrived in Xiaoshan County along Xiaoshaoguan River. Yue officials met him at the post office, and then took a boat to his old house by the Panshui River outside the south gate. At this time, it was the early spring of February, willow buds sprouted, spring was full, and the breeze blew on my face. He is like a bird out of the cage, and he is naturally very happy when he returns to his hometown. He wrote this poem on the spot.
Appreciate that this is an object-chanting poem, which is about willow trees in early spring and February. The poet used metaphor and personification to vividly praise the charming charm of tender willow in early spring and the wonderful work of nature.
"Jasper makeup is as high as a tree", write the overall impression of willow. The beauty of willow image lies in its branch length. Once a year, it grows new green leaves and hangs down, which has a charming posture in the spring breeze. "Jasper" here can refer to real jade, and also implies the meaning of "Jasper" in "Jasper Little Family Girl" (Jasper Song), which refers to a beautiful young woman from a small family. The imagery beauty of willow is often used in classical poetry to describe the slim figure and graceful waist of a beauty, but this poem is original and turns willow into a beauty. Comparing willow with jasper has two meanings: first, jasper is related to the color of willow, and jasper and green in the next sentence complement each other and complement each other; Second, "Jasper" has left a young impression in people's hearts. In ancient literary works, "Jasper" has almost become a general term for young and beautiful women. Comparing willow leaves with jasper, people will imagine that this beautiful woman has not yet reached her prime. This willow is still a small willow in early spring, and it is not time to hide crows in dense leaves. At the same time, it is related to the "thin leaves" and "February spring breeze" below.
"Wan Chuiqing Silk Tapestry" specifically describes the dense and gently drooping branches of willow, which is the most representative part of willow. With the foreshadowing of the previous sentence, this intricate hanging silk has also become a nepotism of beauty. The word "Gao" in the previous sentence sets off the graceful charm of beautiful Tingting; The word "hanging" in the next sentence means that the slender waist is swaying in the wind. There are no words "willow" and "waist" in the poem, but the beauty embodied by weeping willows and willows in early spring is vividly written. "Southern History" said that Liu Yong was the secretariat of Yizhou and presented several Shu Liu plants. "These strips are very long and look like silk threads." Emperor Wu of Qi planted these willows in the Taichang Cloud and in front of the temple, saying that they were "romantic and lovely". Here, wicker is called "green silk sash", which may be an allusion to willow. But there are almost no traces of use here.
"I don't know who cut the thin leaves. The spring breeze in February is like scissors." These two sentences are further refined, depicting the tender leaves of willow trees. Each leaf is unique in shape and delicate in texture, as if it were carefully cut out. When the poet was surprised, he couldn't help asking: Who was the clever tailor who made such good leaves full of trees? Then she found the answer: it turned out that this is a masterpiece of nature. She cut out the spring scenery on the tree with scissors of February spring breeze. Green leaves are like patterns and patterns on beautiful women's clothes. At this point, the beautiful scenery jumped from the paper. The clever metaphor of "the spring breeze in February is like scissors" vividly depicts the invisible and unpredictable spring breeze. Spring breeze and scissors, originally completely irrelevant, their similarities only exist in the poet's imagination. Therefore, "the spring breeze in February is like scissors" is novel and can arouse people's rich associations.
This poem is ambitious and clever in metaphor. Focus on the overall situation first, and then describe it locally. The more detailed and vivid it is, the more vividly it shows the shape and spirit of the willow tree. The topic is to chant willow, but not only to chant willow, but also to chant spring. Singing is natural. The whole poem is made of jasper, and the moss tapestry is cited, and whoever leads the moss tapestry is cut out. Finally, scissors vividly describe the invisible and unpredictable spring breeze. These "scissors" cut out bright green flowers and plants and put on a new makeup for the earth. It is the symbol of natural vitality and the inspiration of spring to people's beauty. From Jasper Makeup to Scissors, we can see the process of the poet's artistic conception. A series of images in poetry are closely linked.
About the author: He (about 659-744) was born in Yongxing, Yuezhou (now Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province). Enter Li Zhengdian Academy to study and participate in the writing of Six Classics and Textbooks. Later, he was transferred to assistant minister of does and secretary supervisor, so he was called "He Jian". Broad-minded, uninhibited, and has the reputation of "talking about love". In the third year of Tianbao (744), he retired as a Taoist. Be good at drinking and be friendly with Li Bai. Together with Zhang, Zhang Xu and Bao Rong, they are called "four sons of Wuzhong". Twenty poems today, mostly sacrificial movements and poems to be written; Landscape writing is fresher and more popular.